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Bogle wins 2018 cheap wine poll, its fourth victory in five years; Columbia Crest finishes second for the second year in a row

And it wasn’t even close.

Bogle has won the 2018 cheap wine poll, the sixth annual. It was Bogle’s fourth title in five years, and it took almost half the votes. Washington state’s Columbia Crest was second with 18 percent, while Other was third, with dozens of wines and wine brands getting single votes, including many that cost more than $10.

Barefoot, the most popular wine on the blog and more or less the best-selling wine in the U.S., finished sixth. It had finished seventh each of the previous three years. Finally, Two-buck Chuck, the Trader Joe’s private label, finished last once again — something it has done every year of the poll.

Frankly, given the quality of some of Bogle’s wines this year, its victory speaks more to the sad state of cheap wine than anything else. When even Bogle — a brand I have waxed poetic about for more than a decade — starts adding sugar to some of its dry red wines, we’re in big trouble.

This year’s results are below. You can find the results for 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013 at the links. I’ll probably retire the poll after this year unless the blog’s visitors clamor to do it again in 2019. It’s not so much that Bogle keeps winning; rather, it’s that cheap wine quality has sunk so far that it seems silly to ask people to reward poorly made wine.

Voting is closed in the cheap wine poll 2018.

Welcome to the Wine Curmudgeon’s cheap wine poll 2018, the sixth annual. Voting ends at midnight Dec. 14. I’ll post the results on Dec. 17. Vote for one brand only, and just one vote per person. Click on the respective buttons next to each entry at the bottom of this post. If you get the blog via RSS or email, click here to vote on the blog.

Share the poll with your friends and fellow cheap wine drinkers by clicking on any of the social media buttons at the end of the post. The first five polls attracted some 18,000 visitors. The winners:

Bogle wins 2017 cheap wine poll, its third victory in four years; Columbia Crest finishes second

Is it time to retire the cheap wine poll and give Bogle the permanent trophy? That may be the case after the California brand won the 2107 cheap wine poll, its third title in four years.

Bogle garnered almost 38 percent of the votes; Washington state’s Columbia Crest was a strong second with 24 percent. California’s McManis, last year’s winner, was a distant third. This was the fifth time I’ve asked blog readers to pick their favorite cheap wine brand.

Turnout was lower this year, which probably helped Bogle given its name recognition and past success. The Columbia Crest effort was especially impressive given this is just the second year it has been part of the voting.

Finally, Two-buck Chuck, the Trader Joe’s private label, finished last once again — something it has done every year. Does that prove that the wine’s popularity is based on its price and not its quality? I’m not sure there is any other way to interpret that kind of consistency.

This year’s results are below, and you can find the results for 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013 at the links. The 2018 poll will return next year; maybe without Bogle. If you have any suggestions for brands to add, leave them in the comments.

Welcome to the Wine Curmudgeon’s cheap wine poll 2017, the fifth annual. Voting ends at 5 p.m. central time on Dec. 13. I’ll post the results on Dec. 15. Vote for one brand only, and just one vote per person. Click on the respective buttons next to each entry at the bottom of this post. If you get the blog via RSS or email, click here to vote on the blog.

McManis beats Bogle in shocking upset to win 2016 cheap wine poll

McManis, the California brand that had never finished higher than third, collected 55 percent of the votes to win the 2016 cheap wine poll. Bogle, winner of two of the first three polls, finished second, while newcomer Columbia Crest was third. This was the fourth time I’ve asked blog readers to pick their favorite cheap wine.

That McManis did so well speaks to the power of social media, and the number of votes that came from Facebook posts about the poll. In this, it did much better than Bogle or Columbia Crest. Having said that, McManis is quality wine, has been in the $10 Hall of Fame, and is worthy of its victory.

The other surprises? That Barefoot, which was second three years ago, finished seventh for the second consecutive year, and Cupcake finished eighth. No, I don’t know why Barefoot does so poorly. You’d think that since it’s the most popular wine on the blog, based on visitor numbers, that some of those people would vote for it. But apparently not. And Cupcake, whose sales have been flat nationwide, continues to underwhelm in the poll — eighth each year it has been in the poll.

Finally, Two-buck Chuck, the Trader Joe’s private label, finished last again, and didn’t receive one vote. I’ll take it out of the poll next year, along with Yellow Tail. It finished ninth for the second year in a row. We’ll give Cupcake one more chance.

This year’s results are below, and you can find the results for 2015, 2014, and 2013 at the links. The 2017 poll will return next year; if you have any suggestions for brands to add, leave them in the comments.

Cheap wine poll 2016 voting is closed

Welcome to the Wine Curmudgeon’s cheap wine poll 2016, the fourth annual. Voting is closed. The results are here.

Some changes this year, since I switched polling widgets. Vote for one brand only, and just one vote per person. Click on the respective buttons next to each entry at the bottom of this post. If you get the blog via RSS or email, click here to vote on the blog.

Share the poll with your friends and fellow cheap wine drinkers by clicking on any of the social media buttons at the end of the post. The first three polls attracted some 12,000 visitors.

There are 10 producers again this year; I’ve added Columbia Crest after several visitor suggestions. The brands in the poll cost around $10, they’re generally available (which means you can find them in a retailer in a decent-sized city), and they’re popular enough so that people have heard of them. Falesco Vitiano won in 2013 and Bogle won in 2014 and 2015.

Welcome to the Wine Curmudgeon’s third annual cheap wine poll, which runs today through Dec. 15. I’ll post the results on Dec. 17.

You can vote for the brand you like the most or against a label that you don’t like — just click on the respective buttons next to each entry at the bottom of this post. You can vote here or on the Ranker site, where the poll is hosted (and thanks again to Ranker, the blog’s unofficial polling widget). If you get the blog via RSS or email, click here to vote on the blog or here to vote at Ranker.

Share the poll with your friends and fellow cheap wine drinkers by clicking on any of the social media buttons at the bottom of the poll or at end of the post. The first two polls attracted some 10,000 visitors.

I’ve included 10 producers, adding Cupcake, Yellow Tail, and the Cono Sur Bicicleta brand this year. The brands in the poll cost around $10, they’re generally available (which means you can find them in a retailer in a decent-sized city), and they’re popular enough so that people have heard of them. Falesco Vitiano won in 2013 and Bogle won in 2014.Business Lists on Ranker